


Birthday Extravaganza

by roo2010



Series: My Life with Tom [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Actor Tom Hiddleston, Dad Tom Hiddleston, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Not COVID-19 Compliant, Tom Hiddleston Is A Sweetheart, birthday celebration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29299170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roo2010/pseuds/roo2010
Summary: Tom, Jackie and their family celebrate a very special day
Relationships: Tom Hiddleston/Original Female Character(s)
Series: My Life with Tom [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/237423





	Birthday Extravaganza

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written well before the end of 2019, when COVID-19 hadn't been heard of and no one knew the upheavals ahead of us all. Today is Tom's 40th Birthday and as far as I know he's in London, in lockdown with just Bobby for company. I decided that Tom and Jackie live in a COVID free world now as I am not wasting one of my favourite segments just because it couldn't actually happen at the present time. (I will be going back and retconning any mentions if the pandemic in due course) This is another segment that might move around a bit as things posted later get put in their proper place in the timeline.  
> So please celebrate with Tom and Jackie, and for those of you too young to remember the song, look it up on You Tube, I couldn't imagine Tom wearing anything else ;-)

The beginning of 2021 was full of preparations for a big event, Tom was fast approaching 40 and we’d decided to throw a party to celebrate. The hall was booked for the Saturday following the actual birthday, which was Valentine’s weekend of course, as I couldn’t shake the suspicion that it was bad luck to celebrate something that actually happened yet! We had decided on an Eighties theme complete with fancy dress to reflect the decade we’d both been born in. I was actually older than Tom by four months and twelve days (not that I’d ever counted!) and had been known to refer to him as my ‘toy-boy’ purely in jest of course. We had some great fun, and truly cringe worthy moments researching the theme, both of us being just too young to remember the early part of the decade.

We were having the party in London and had thrown our house open to Louise and her family so they could share the celebrations with us. Louise and I were still very close despite the fact that we lived significantly different lives now. With her oldest three boys now actually being young men and away at various universities it would realistically be Louise, Steve and their youngest son. Lizzie was still studying at BIMM and was doing really well. Along with Abbie and new friends Jess and Saff they had formed another band but kept the same name; as Leah and Shannon hadn’t objected when Lizzie had asked them if she could keep using it. The girls even had a manager now; a lovely lady called Lynsey and had played a few gigs in local venues. Tom and I had been of course, sitting as unobtrusively as possible, tapping our feet or clapping along as the mood took us, or the patrons of the venue got into the groove. The new Thorne and The Roses were even better than the version that had played at our wedding and it was clear now that the core of the band had been Abbie and Lizzie from the start.

The twins, now a very boisterous three and not quite a half, were looking forward to it immensely. They had settled well into a local nursery school which of course meant that we were no longer as free to follow Daddy around the world but I still tried to make sure that I was present for the first week of filming. Delenn and William did seem to be under the impression that the party was for them but Tom and I had decide, at this stage it didn’t really matter, we would make sure they realised as best they could closer to the day. We had debated about getting a baby sitter for the evening but rapidly discarded that notion after we realised that all the people we would be happy asking would be at the party anyway! And taking into consideration the sheer amount of family, friends and honourable aunts and uncles there, the possibility of no-one having eyes on them was remote. They had great fun the day we showed them pictures of the era and asked them to pick what they wanted to dress up as. Will immediately plumped for the classic Action Man whereas Delenn chose to be a Sindy doll but she wasn’t sure yet exactly which one as she explained to me “There are too many pretty dresses Mummy!”

She would look the part anyway as she had inherited Tom’s natural blonde hair colour and my natural waves, Will had my hair completely; dark brown with waves if it got too long which made Tom grateful that neither of them would have his unruly (but totally adorable) curls. With Tom and I both having blue eyes there was no question what colour the twins would be and with both of us having quite thin lips too Diana swore it was like turning back the clock every time she saw our babies, apparently they were definitely Hiddlestons!

With my youngest children decided, and my middle child well able to sort herself out it only remained for me for me to sort myself and my ‘oldest’ child out. I was set in what I wanted Tom wearing but it took quite a bit of cajoling on my part for him to see the possibilities I was putting forward. The Eighties were a very strange time in music there was the tail end of punk rock and the start of The New Romantics and straddling those genres like he was born to rule both was the brilliant Adam Ant. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to me that there was no better costume for Tom than Adam’s Prince Charming outfit from the song of the same name. Those pale grey satin trousers, the militaristic short jacket with those wide scarlet cuffs, that stunning and iconic make-up, even the knee high black boots would look wonderful on Tom, we could even manage the hair. I was contemplating going as the Fairy Godmother from the video of the song, originally portrayed by the inimitable Diana Dors, and whilst I didn’t have her generous physique, the thought of wearing a slinky number was a definite draw, even if it was a little out of my normal comfort zone. I did realise that I could only realistically wear what I wanted if Tom wore what I wanted him to. When all was said and done though it was his party, and I didn’t want to spoil it by insisting on his costume. I just let him come to the decision on his own and if it happened that a couple of times when he was engrossed in something on the telly the song mysteriously appeared via the magic of YouTube and a sneaky press of a button on my phone? Well I saw it as more of encouragement than nagging. He did capitulate eventually, making it seem a huge drama as only an actor can but I knew that he could be incredibly stubborn when it suited him and he wouldn’t have agreed if he wasn’t 100% happy.

All we had to do then was source the costumes. Will was easy, child sized combat outfits were not difficult to come by after all and Delenn, after much deliberation and no doubt inspired by a Christmas gift of a Doctor’s bag which she insisted on taking everywhere, had decided that as there was no Dr Sindy on the 80’s she would be Nurse Sindy instead. That took a little more work. The dark blue dress and white apron and cap were quite simple but the traditional nurse’s cape proved to be a bit trickier. Luckily Emma was rather handy with a sewing machine and managed to run up a really food facsimile in what seemed like next to no time complete with the red lining and cross over straps that I remembered from the original. Tom’s costume was actually quite easy too, he simple called a few friends he’d made in various costume departments and between then they came up with the goods. His hair was still long and black from the delayed filming of the Loki series which helped of course and a couple of braids and beads completed his costume. He looked as good as I knew he would. My dress was also fairly easy, I wasn’t above looking in charity shops for what I wanted because I certainly didn’t need another ball gown when I could ask Tom’s dresser Janet nicely for big occasions but in this instance I didn’t want to run the risk of ruining anything, and a birthday party is a far cry from any red carpet. I managed to find the perfect dress at a reasonable price, it was probably the most revealing dress I’d ever worn in public but they do say that you only live once! I think my version may have been even more revealing than the original, there was definitely a lot more skin on show than I was used to when you took into account the slit up one leg and the very low cut bodice showing off my décolletage not to mention the spaghetti straps holding the whole thing up. Tom’s low murmur of “Wow” when he saw me in it for the first time was actually a bit of a confidence boost. I mean he always complimented me on whatever I was wearing to events I was accompanying him to but somehow this seemed more heartfelt. The tricky bit for me would be the necessary wand. It had been quite a delicate affair in the video so I sat down one day with the twins and we all made our own version, everybody getting lovely and sticky and covered in glitter!

Before we knew it the date of the party was upon us. We’d taken the decision very early on that thought I was a reasonably good cook and could call on Diana, Emma and Lizzie to be helping hands the number of guests involved made catering the party ourselves impractical. Lizzie had made a cake for the actual birthday and we’d all tucked into delicious slices as dessert after tea. The cake for the party was made by Tom’s friend who’d made our wedding cakes and I’d conspired with her that the decoration should be an icing plaque depicting portraits of the most well-known of Tom’s roles so of course Loki was there along with Jonathan Pine, Henry V, James Conrad, and Hank Williams with a couple of others that meant something special to him as well. We’d kept that completely secret from Tom and hoped he’d appreciate the effort that went into it. Having the event catered also meant that there was no pressure on us on the day of the party, other than the usual making sure we were all dressed and costumes didn’t get ruined by rambunctious toddlers of course.

Jeff was still Tom’s driver, we always used the company he worked for when necessary and Tom always asked for Jeff in particular, they had also invested in a people carrier with blacked out windows for when we wanted to go somewhere as a family but didn’t want to drive so we made sure to book that for the transfer to the party. I have to say Jeff’s face as we all emerged from our front door was an absolute picture. Tom looked just as wonderful as I thought he would, perfectionist as always he’d made sure his hair and make-up was spot on and looked every inch the prince that his fans were convinced he was and as he walked to the car, carefully holding Will’s hand making sure our little man didn’t run off Jeff definitely did a double take. He was older than Tom and I so probably remembered the song from his youth I realised as, out of sight from anyone who might be looking in from the road, Jeff started singing the song and doing the arm actions. I was delighted and giggled along behind the boys earning myself a look from Delenn that clearly said ‘Mummy, what on earth are you doing?’ I was sure that the only thing stopping Tom joining in was the fact that he was holding Will’s hand.

As soon as our longstanding driver and friend clapped eyes on me he saluted me with a cheery “Good evening Fairy Godmother! I’m glad you turned the pumpkin into this glorious carriage!”

“Thank you, Jeff. “ I giggled again “it was the work of but a moment.” I was pleased he was playing along and that our costumes passed muster. I knew that Tom was up for enjoying himself tonight and the DJ we’d hired had promised me, in secret, that anybody who turned up dressed as a pop star from that era would have one of their most famous songs played for them. Needless to say I was looking forward to the music immensely.

We were met at the venue by the rest of the Hiddleston clan. Sarah, Yakov, and their daughter had made the trip from India and James, Diana and Emma were a given. Will and Delenn seemed genuinely surprised that Nanny and Grandad knew who they were dressed as without being told. I don’t think that they’d realised that people could have been on the planet before they themselves had. Diana and James had really entered into the spirit of the fancy dress theme with James dressing as Dr Emmett Brown from the Back to the Future films and Diana as, whom else, but the Queen. I thought it was so appropriate as she was definitely the Queen of our family, being the glue that held Tom and his sisters together through the very trying time of their parent’s divorce. We hadn’t actually told anyone what Tom and I would be wearing so to see people’s delighted smiles as we were spotted was very gratifying and made wearing the dress I’d found bearable at least.

The party was brilliant, not all Tom’s invited famous friends could make it of course; the perpetual curse of being friends with busy and very popular actors, but those that could come seem determined to enjoy themselves as much as possible. The DJ, as promised, had bought plenty of 80’s music with him and it was great to hear all those classic pop songs again. People didn’t need much encouragement to get on the dance floor and show off their superior dance moves but it was interesting to see who’d done their homework. As we’d hoped, if someone was dressed like the artist whose music was playing at that moment did their best to emulate their iconic moves which was particularly interesting for those who’d come dressed as members of the band Queen!

One of the highlights for me of course was when ‘Prince Charming’ was played. I didn’t realise how much homework Tom had done because as soon as the intro started he assumed the pose for the start of the dance and strutted (there really is no other word for it) across the floor, arms moving in perfect synchronicity with the music. Of course we couldn’t recreate the story in the video but Tom managed somehow to get half the guests following him around all trying to get their movements completely correct. He was so successful that the DJ played it twice more that night and, despite a couple of shots of his still beloved Jameson’s, he still managed to give an exemplary performance.

The cake was a huge hit with him too; we’d managed to keep it completely under wraps both figuratively and literally. Tom had no idea of the decorations and we’d kept it under a cloth for most of the night. When it was time to cut the chocolate delight I went to get Tom, Lizzie, Delenn and William from their respective interactions and herded them towards the food. Diana was already there and she and I grabbed the corners and revealed the confection beneath. The icing plaque was absolutely gorgeous, the artist had captured aspects of all the characters on it that even I hadn’t noticed before, so much so that even though the portraits on the icing were obviously of the same man they looked so different but still completely right that I’m sure that a casual observer might not have realised the similarities.

Tom was very nearly rendered speechless, a very unusual occurrence, but he quickly gathered his wits and looked at me with tars shining in his eyes.

“I love it!” he whispered to me “but now I don’t want to cut it.”

“There is a spare plaque in case of disaster.” I whispered back “and I’m assured that it’s identical.”

“It’s such a clever idea.” He enthused.

“It’s amazing to see your career so far in such detail” I answered.

“It is” he replied “but I can tell there’s chocolate cake under that icing and I want some of that too!”

I hastily lit the candles, not the actual forty required but enough to make blowing them out in one puff a challenge. It was also no surprise that Delenn and William also wanted their own go though neither of them had quite gotten the knack of blowing yet so Tom surreptitiously ‘helped’ them from behind their backs whilst making sure they didn’t get too close to the naked flames. Once the twins were satisfied it was finally time to cut the cake and share it among our friends and family. The icing plaque didn’t survive the first cut obviously and I was really glad there was a spare after all. The cake was deliciously decadent all moist and indulgent with a rich raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream filling. It garnered lots of compliments and I made a mental note to let the creator know.

The party eventually wound down, Delenn and William had given into exhaustion a while ago and were both laid over two chairs completely dead to the world. They looked so peaceful that Tom and I decided to try and get them home without disturbing them too much, which was always easier said than done. Luckily we, as usual, had a small cadre of willing helpers. Jeff had been alerted and when he arrived popped his head around the door to see if we needed any more hands. With our helpers holding various bags full of gifts for Tom, and anything else we wanted to take home, Tom with his arms full of Delenn and me with William we made our way to the car. It took two people to put each child in their car seat as the children in question were no help at all!

When we arrived home though it was only the four of us, Tom, Lizzie, Jeff and myself, the twins were still asleep and I was beginning to regret our decision to let them sleep as we’d somehow have to get them undressed before we put them to bed. Still what was done was done so the adults ferried all the bags and bits and bobs into the house before getting our Precious Beans, the nickname from before they were born had stuck somewhat though it wasn’t used all the time. A brief discussion with Tom and Lizzie led to us deciding that we would wake the twins once we’d got them inside in the warm as waking up and walking the short distance in the February night would probably wake them up a little too much and then we’d struggle to get them back to sleep, as we’d learnt to our cost on previous occasions. A way forward decided on we implemented it quickly and luckily it worked really well. We woke the twins in their bedroom and after a quick toilet trip they were happy to change into their jammies and snuggle back to sleep. We knew we’d probably have an early start in the morning purely because they never slept very well once they’d been woken at night but we were both used to early starts and neither of us had drunk too much to make that a chore, me because I didn’t drink and Tom because, even though it was his birthday celebration, he was responsible enough to stay sober when it mattered. Tired but extremely happy with how the party had gone we weren’t far behind them.


End file.
